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Drowning in Lake Ontario prompts questions

Lifeguards now off duty at Lakeview Park

Sep 11, 2008 - 03:25 PM

By Jillian Follert

OSHAWA -- A tragic drowning off the shores of Lakeview Park on Labour Day weekend is prompting some residents to ask how much life guarding is enough.

On Saturday, Aug. 30, at about 4:30 p.m. police and firefighters rushed to the park, after calls came in that a man in his 80s had attempted to swim out to a boat docked in the water and gone under.

He was brought to shore where emergency workers did CPR, but he later died in hospital.

"There were a lot of people at the park that day, a lot of kids, and no lifeguards on duty," said Jeff Mann, who was walking by when the commotion unfolded. "It made me think that someone should have been there. You can't expect average citizens to save this guy."

Other residents expressed similar concerns in letters to This Week.

Mary Creighton, the City's director of recreation and culture services, said City lifeguards are on duty at Lakeview Park from late June until the Friday of Labour Day weekend. During that period, they are there seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

"We have to have set start and stop dates," she said. "Traditionally, we haven't guarded the long weekend because of the fact that weather can be an issue and we don't find people using services like that as much, because they're getting ready for back to school."

Ms. Creighton stressed signs are posted at the beach outlining the dates and times that lifeguards are on duty and said people who swim outside those periods must take some personal responsibility for their safety.

The City works closely with the Life Saving Society of Ontario to convey basic safe swimming messages to the public, and Ms. Creighton urged people to remember golden rules such as not to swim alone, not to swim in an unsupervised area and to know their limits and stay within them.

The City also posts lifeguards at its indoor and outdoor pools, however other bodies of water, including long stretches of Lake Ontario beyond Lakeview Park, are not guarded.

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